Ponomar Photography

Taking this shot was probably the closest I’ve ever felt to being a paparazzi. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous that evening!  The smooth look of the tide on the shore, along with the glaring reflection of the setting sun, made the experience surreal.  I noticed a fisherman in the water a fair distance away, casting into the ocean as the tide crept in. Knowing that there wasn’t much time before the sun went down, I ran over to ask him if he didn’t mind me following him while I shoot a few sunset photos with him in the frame. Not only did he give me consent, but he seemed flattered and even excited.  

Since I was using an extremely wide angle lens, he seemed much further away in the frame than I had hoped for.  I was so excited to get the shot that I walked into the water with my jeans and my shoes on. The fisherman continued casting his line into the water (perhaps a little more gracefully since he knew he was on camera), while I inched my way closer to him. By this time the temperature had drop quite drastically and the water was now up past my knees. I didn’t even care.

Before I knew it, over half an hour had past, and rather than being well out of speaking range, I was now just a few meters behind him.  There was an awkward presence as I finally realized that he was now more concerned about getting back to fishing, than posing for a photo derby. I snapped a few more shots and thanked him before frantically running to shore, realizing how cold and uncomfortable my wet clothes were.  At the time, I was about half way done a 25 day trip and the only other footwear I had was one pair of sandals (not so good in the hot California sun).  My feet looked like I had walked on a barbeque.

In the end, I was really happy with the shots I got… It’s just too bad I didn’t get his information so I could send him a copy.  I know that fishing requires patience, but this man deserves an award.